1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device having a clamp portion attached to a hospital bed or gurney and a bracket portion for supporting an IV pole above the floor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
During hospital medical treatment, it is often necessary to infuse liquids into a patient intravenously. Such infusion is normally carried out through the use of a disposable administration bag which is hung from an IV pole and filled with the desired infusion fluid which is conducted to the patient via a flexible tubing and a hypodermic needle.
In various types of hospital situations it is necessary to transport a patient on a hospital bed or a gurney from one location to another in the hospital. In this case, the pole is typically connected to a weighted base having casters thereon. The casters contact the floor and personnel are required to assist in transporting a patient and to manually move the IV pole alongside the bed or gurney. This in turn leads to the possibility of accidental disconnection of needles and lines causing patient contamination and discomfort. In addition, the various lines associated with the pole mounted equipment could become entangled as the bed/gurney is moved separately from the adjacent IV pole.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,368 to Crisman et al discloses a support bracket for securely mounting an IV sensor to an IV pole to prevent the flow sensor and drop chamber from tilting during use; U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,277 to Rioux discloses a bracket for mounting onto a hospital bed railing assembly for supporting a one-piece telephone instrument. However, neither patent discloses a device for securing an IV pole to a hospital bed or gurney in a manner to minimize the risk of accidental disconnection of IV lines from a patient.
What is therefore desired is to provide a device which eliminates the need of having extra personnel available to transport a patient confined to a hospital bed or gurney and to push or pull a separately moveable IV pole thus decreasing both the possibility of accidental disconnections of needles and lines and the entanglement of the IV lines.